My £18k Mercedes was ‘completely changed by cowboy airport parking firm’ – I feel violated and it could happen to anyone
A STUNNED dad returned from a family holiday to find his new Mercedes had different tyres and part of the engine had been replaced.
Dave's £18,000 car was also splattered with black paint and had an extra 240 miles on the clock, he claims.
The driver left his second-hand motor with a meet-and-greet parking service at Heathrow Airport before flying to Thailand.
He had only bought it 12 days earlier and described it as being "pristine inside and out".
The only damage was on the offside front bumper and wheel, which he says was documented before he handed over the keys.
But when Dave got back from his trip, it was in an "awful state".
READ MORE ON MOTORS
The 61-year-old software company manager said: "It was horrendous.
"I paid in good faith expecting for my car to have been collected, driven locally to be parked and returned to me in the same condition as when I dropped it off.
"But it was awful. I felt like I had been completely violated."
Dave said his car's brand new alloy wheels were scratched and chipped and his tyres had been replaced with older ones that caused his low pressure light to come on.
Most read in Motors
His SatNav settings had also been changed, the front passenger seat reclined and the child seat moved, he claims.
The LCD screen inside was covered in scratches with a blurry picture and the wrong time so Dave fears this was also swapped for an older model.
And he thinks his brake pads and some engine parts were modified or replaced completely.
"Someone may have even replaced the whole engine for an older one," he said.
"A package with equipment to take the wheel off was left in the boot."
Finally, there were paint splats over the bonnet which Dave believes were left there from a garage workshop.
And his mileage had allegedly increased by about 240 miles, with half a tank of petrol gone.
Dave said the "terrible" experience started when he arrived at the airport and discovered EzyBook had messed up his booking with Skylink Parking Services so he would need to pay the £89 fee again.
He argued his case for half-an-hour before eventually handing over the keys.
It was awful. I felt like I had been completely violated
Dave
Despite having a "wonderful" two-week holiday, Dave returned to London on October 27 to find his trip more or less ruined.
After collecting their bags, his group went to pick up their motor and drive home - only to find it badly parked in a disabled bay with the keys under the sun visor.
On closer inspection, they noticed the extensive problems.
Dave, who paid £18,149 for the vehicle, said: "We filled the car up with petrol before leaving home so I know it was low.
"But one of the worst parts was that there was a significant number of black blotches all over the bonnet.
"This turned out to be car paint which I believe came from a workshop where multiple parts were swapped over.
To make matters worse, the parking firm left no ticket to leave the car park so Dave had to pay another £11 just to get out.
And as it was left in a disabled bay without a blue badge for almost an hour, he feared he would get a fine.
Dave immediately complained to Skylink and EzyBook, but described the process as "terrible";.
He added: "Ezybook said it was nothing to do with them and Skylink didn't even reply.
"I submitted a report to the Met police who said they could not do anything about it.
"I would like to be compensated and Skylink to be shut down because there are bad reviews all over the web.
"If only I had checked beforehand. I cannot believe they got away with it.
"They caused damage and changes worth several thousand pounds."
READ MORE SUN STORIES
A spokesperson for EzyBook said it acted as the booking agent but complaints are dealt with by service providers and the matter has been escalated to the supplier's management team.
Skylink was approached for comment.